


Field of Memories

by hopeofnyan



Series: Zutara Month 2 of 2020 [1]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Comfort, Day One: Flowers, F/M, Hama and bloodbending are mentioned, Hurt/Comfort, Katara and Zuko (Avatar) are Parents, Katara and Zuko have two kids, One Shot, Zutara, Zutara Month, Zutara Month 2, Zutara Month 2020, fire lilies, they're absolutely precious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23954248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopeofnyan/pseuds/hopeofnyan
Summary: Although the world is at peace and all the people she loves are safe, harsh memories still haunt Katara. Her and Zuko's children are present to witness it, but so is he.
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Zutara Month 2 of 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726894
Comments: 4
Kudos: 63





	Field of Memories

**Author's Note:**

> Day One: Flowers

The sunlight reflecting off of the fire lilies’ petals gleamed beautifully in the field. Katara fondly watched her children, Kya and Tong Yi, frolic through the blossoms. Tong Yi followed his older sister on stubby legs as she patiently waited for him before darting just a little bit ahead. Their mother frowned as she remembered how dazzled she had been when she had first been introduced to the flowers by Hama, who used them as a demonstration of how to rip water from living things. She idly drew water out of one, watching it wilt and wither under her control. Zuko lightly bumped her shoulder.

“What did you do that for?” he asked, watching as she toyed with the water in midair.

“No reason,” Katara replied, allowing the liquid to drop.

Her husband glanced at her apprehensively but did not push her. She did not want to spoil the day with her troubling memories. Perhaps tonight, when the children were peacefully sleeping in their beds, she would recall the time when a waterbender had stripped the flowers of their vitality before the bloodbending nightmare. For now, Katara wanted to be with her family in the present., where they were safe. Where the full moon was shrouded as the sun shone luminously and vibrantly.

“Mama!” Kya called as she scampered over to her parents. “Look what I got you.” The little girl held a particularly large lily up, her gaze fixed on Katara expectantly.

“It’s lovely,” she told her, accepting the flower as her daughter beamed at her.

“I knew you’d like it,” Kya said softly, then turned to her father. “And this one is for you!”

Zuko picked her up high in the air as Kya giggled, pushing another fire lily to him as he lowered her to the ground. His flower, though of average size, had unusual orange markings staining its scarlet petals.

“Thank you, Kya,” he informed her with a smile.

Kya glanced away shyly before dashing back to her brother, who was trying to catch up to her and their parents.

Zuko turned to Katara and asked to see her flower. She handed it to him, thinking he simply wanted to inspect it. Instead he pulled her hair back from her ear and tucked the blossom in, patting the some of her locks and a hair loop around it to secure the lily in place.

“How do I look?” she inquired, a grin appearing on her face.

“Beautiful,” he answered, pulling her close in an embrace.

“Zuko, you’re going to make it fall out!” Katara exclaimed, but still leaned into the hug with no resistance.

They sprang apart upon hearing Tong Yi yelp as he plummeted to his knees. Kya was attempting to shush him, a guilty look on her face as Katara and Zuko rushed to them.

“It was an accident!” she blurted before either of them said a word.

“Let me see,” Katara directed calmly, crouching to her son’s level. His knees were just a bit red with grass rubbed into the slightly raw skin. “I told you to be careful,” she grumbled, brushing away the grass with practiced hands. She bent a glove of water out of the waterskin tucked at her side, healing the minor injuries deftly.

“Kya, what happened?” Zuko asked.

“He ran into me and fell,” she mumbled, staring at the ground. “I didn’t catch him fast enough.”

“You aren’t in trouble, but please be more careful,” her father said gently.

“Okay.”

Katara brushed her skirt as she stood up, fixing a mildly stern gaze at Tong Yi. “Watch where you are going next time. You could have gotten hurt much more seriously if there were rocks here instead of grass! What if we hadn’t seen you fall?” she cried.

“It was just an accident!” Kya snapped. Tong Yi glanced at both of them fearfully.

Zuko placed a hand on her shoulder. “Your mother and I need to talk. You can keep playing.” He lightly began steering Katara away, stepping to where their children were close but not enough to hear them speak. “Katara, what was that? He just tripped.”

Katara glared at him. “He could have hit his head! Or broken his knees, or…or…” she trailed off, looking away from Zuko as unshed tears accumulated in her eyes.

He waited a few moments before quietly asking, “Do you want to tell me what this is really about?”

Perhaps Katara ought to elaborate the source of her anguish sooner than the evening. Besides, the kids were nowhere near close enough to hear what she had to say.

“You weren’t there,” she began, “when I learned bloodbending.” Zuko kept his gaze on her, not interrupting. “I know I already told you about Hama and her making me learn it unless I wanted Sokka and Aang to get hurt, but…before that night, she took me to a field of fire lilies. They were so lovely – it was the first time I thought the Fire Nation was beautiful. And Hama was telling me about Southern Water Tribe history, and it felt like something good was happening for the first time in ages.” Katara halted her story as a sob choked out of her. She instinctively leaned into Zuko’s arms as he gently surrounded her in a comforting embrace. “An-and then she just bent all the water out of the flowers and then later she forced me to bloodbend that night and I-I just…” Katara buried her face into his chest as Zuko held her close. “I just can’t help but think of her whenever I see the fire lilies now,” she sniffled. She knew that Zuko was not judging her at all, but still felt ashamed at her display. Flowers, of all things, caused her to cry. “I know it isn’t rational.”

A moment of silence played out before Zuko spoke. “The things that haunt us don’t have to be rational or make sense. It just matters that we acknowledge them and don’t run from the past.” He desired to say more but knew from experience that he was not fluent in advice or proverbs like Uncle was.

Katara trembled a bit less as she clung to him as his words sunk into her head. She felt grateful that she did not have to be strong by herself. That he did not brush her off or act uncomfortable with her sadness. That he was able to recognize things she could not. That he was here, with her and their children, safe.

“We don’t have to see the lilies anymore,” Zuko told her. “I wouldn’t have suggested this if I had known.”

“No, we should see them. Just because they were connected to Hama doesn’t mean they’re bad. And besides, they’re used every year in the festivals, and they don’t bother me there.”

“But seeing this field of them is different.”

“Yeah, it is,” Katara conceded. “We can stay here though. You and the kids can still enjoy it.”

“Katara, I won’t be enjoying it. Not when it’s such a bad reminder,” Zuko pointed out.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to ruin this for you.”

“You didn’t. I’m glad you told me.” He rested his head on top of hers. “You don’t need to keep things secret. Especially if they cause you pain.”

“Thank you, Zuko.” Katara closed her eyes as they stayed still. “We can stay here a little longer so Kya and Tong Yi can keep playing.”

“Alright,” Zuko murmured.

After a few minutes, she fixed her eyes on his face. “The kids will be worried if we stay over here any longer.”

“Are you ready to go back out? I’m sure they’ll be fine for a little while longer,” Zuko replied.

Katara nodded firmly. “Let’s go.”

Hand in hand, they walked closer to Kya and Tong Yi. Katara knew she may never get past her aversion to the fire lilies any time in the near future, but she did know that they held no power over her. Perhaps making new memories with her family would overtake the old ones someday. Perhaps in the future, when she saw the lilies, she would think of Zuko’s warm smile and their children’s laughter.

* * *

List of Zutara Month 2 prompts [here](https://neurologicaldamage.tumblr.com/post/616498052307599360/alright-everyone-since-this-seemed-so-popular)

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine that Katara would want to name at least one of her kids after Kya, and Zuko has no aversion to it. In this universe, he has not found his mother yet, and has conflicted feelings about her so he was glad to name their daughter Kya. Both he and Katara wanted to have a unique name for their second child. Fun fact - Tong Yi is Chinese for 'unity'. It seemed a fitting name for the child of a couple that represented two nations united.


End file.
